Introduction

Sometimes you only realize certain truths in hindsight. We have always known that there are few things in the world cooler than a ninja. And that the life of a pirate can only be more thrilling when we're discussing space pirates. Then one has to concede the sometimes disturbing power of the catgirl over all geekdom. But what if these icons of kewlness were somehow juxtaposed? Why, you'd have to add lesbians, er, amazons to the mix to get any better!

Steve Jackson Games has realized this truth with their latest card game, SPANC. Yes, now you, too, can become a Space Pirate Amazon Ninja Catgirl, plundering the universe in search of thrills, toys, and poolboys!

Okay, so it's a funny-as-hell concept, but what about the game itself?

Setup

There are enough cards and tokens to support from two to four players. The object of the game is to complete enough capers (think "adventures" or perhaps "crime sprees") to collect at least 10 Loot tokens.

The game comes with 21 Crew cards, 33 Toys cards, and 54 Challenge cards. All of them are wonderfully illustrated by Phil Foglio (of Girl Genius and Xxxenophile fame). You also get 2d6 and a punch-out sheet with 64 "Loot" tokens (eight of which are actually "5 Loot" tokens in case your pile becomes unwieldy) and eight "Crew" Tokens (2 each of red, blue, green, and yellow).

Every Crew card has a catgirl on it; you start off the game with four of them (your "crew"). Each catgirl has a name, a picture, and four color-coded skills, ranked from 2 to 8 -- "Space Pirate", "Amazon", "Ninja", and "Catgirl". For example, Shurikitten has "SP 5", "A 3", "N 7", and "C 5". So she's great at sneaking into places and dressing in black, but not so hot at outdoor survival and spear hurling. Througout the game, your success is gauged by trying to roll your skill level or less on 2d6, so a higher skill is better.

You also start with one Toy card. Almost all of the toys are simple skill-enhancers that one catgirl can use at a time. For example, "Jaunty Bandana" is a "SP +1, C +1" toy, adding 1 to one catgirl's Space Pirate and Catgirl skills. The bonuses are appropriately color-coded and in the same location as on the Crew cards -- this means you can just slip the Toy card behind the Crew card and easily see what bonuses are in effect.

Some toys are mixed bags, giving a +2 to one skill but a -1 to another. A handful are actually Poolboys, who give +1 to every skill and count as Loot for the purpose of winning the game! Finally, a few Toy cards are "Specials", each of which can be used once and have effects like letting you reroll the dice, adding +3 to any one skill roll, or instantly reviving a knocked-out catgirl (see below.)

Toys can be reassigned at will and you can have up to two "unassigned" toys on the table. You can buy a Toy between capers for 2 Loot tokens, but you usually earn them on capers (see below.)

So, you grab two matching "Crew" Tokens and put one on whichever catgirl you want to be your Captain (she can use two toys instead of one and gets one free reroll per "caper", but if she's ever knocked out, your other crew are at -1 to all rolls.) The remaining three are your Crew. Grab some starting Loot, and you're ready to play.

Capers

What does a S.P.A.N.C. do? Goes on capers, of course! In this game, a caper consists of four challenges with a reward at the end.

Here's where you break out the Challenge cards. Each one has a description (e.g., "Locked Vault"), a hilarious picture, and what skill (sometimes modified) you have to roll against to beat it (e.g., "Ninja" or "Catgirl+2"). The harder ones also include a reward, almost always a draw from the Toy deck.

Lay four Challenge cards out, the last three face down. You then have to pick one of your catgirls to go on the caper; she has to beat the first Challenge. If she succeeds, you collect any reward and flip the next one over (you use your second "Crew" Token to keep track of which Challenge you're on) -- if you make it all the way to the end, you get extra Loot and Toys as a reward! If she fails, she's "knocked out" and her and her toys are no longer available to you -- the next player now tries his hand at the same caper.

Each round is thus a race to the end of the caper. The first to succeed gets extra Loot, but everyone who makes it to the end gets a reward for doing so (in addition to any rewards for the Challenges themselves.) If all four of your catgirls are knocked out trying to get past the Challenges, though, you're done with this round.

Most of the strategy for the capers comes from reassigning which catgirl is using which toy, but there's also the "Learning from your mistakes" rule. If one of your crew is knocked out by a challenge, the next catgirl gets +2 to beat it. If she's knocked out, the next catgirl gets +4 to beat it, and so on. While the bonuses don't help with the rest of the caper, it means that sometimes you want to attack a tough challenge with your weakest catgirl, so the next one stands a better chance.

Catfights

Though billed as an "optional rule", you miss out on most of the strategy and a lot of the fun if you skip Catfights. If more than one team completes a caper, they naturally exchange catty remarks, which can lead to a full-blown catfight!

Starting with the first player to beat the caper, each player can have one of his catgirls attack one of his opponent's. The fun of it is in the four different attacks you can make. A Space Pirate Attack is to steal the crew's Loot. An Amazon attack is to kill a catgirl! (Don't worry; the player just draws a new one next turn, but he does lose any toys she had on her.) A Ninja attack is to steal a toy from one catgirl. And a Catgirl attack is an attempt to steal a Poolboy.

You both roll against your appropriate skill. Depending on who succeeds and who fails, the property might change hands, stay where it is, or be destroyed. Amazon attacks are risky, because if either catgirl fails her roll, she dies! The other three attacks are relatively risk-free for the attacker, however, and therefore are almost always a good idea. Of course, after you attack them, they can attack you....

At the end of the Caper/Catfight, if anyone has 10 or more Loot (plus Poolboys), whoever has the most wins! If there's a tie, those who tie go one to a tiebreaker caper, winner takes all.

My Opinion

We had little difficulty understanding the rules. The basic concept of "Caper, Catfight, Revive catgirls, Repeat" is easy enough. While it may sound repetitive when phrased like that, in play, it isn't. The wide range of Challenge cards and the random draw mean that every caper ends up playing very differently. The caper concept reminds me strongly of Ninja Burger (and I consider that a Good Thing), while the catfight concept is original, fun, easy, and affects the game significantly without overpowering the need to complete the capers ahead of everyone else.

My friends and I truly enjoy playing this game, and it has a high replay value for reasons discussed above. The only thing that I feel is lacking is the ability to affect another player in some way while on a caper -- all of the Special Toy cards affect your catgirls or your rolls alone -- though it plays fine without them. Substance: 4.

The artwork on the cards is exactly what you'd expect from Phil Foglio. For those who don't know, that means risque (PG-13) cartoon catgirls with lots of cleavage, poses that range from "action hero!" to "suggestive", and a great sense of humor throughout. While it will certainly offend those who enjoy being offended, it's unlikely to bother most gamers -- the most suggestive picture within is of a catgirl dangling her panties from one toe in front of a bureaucrat.

The backs of the cards are all very distinct, in three different colors and with "icons" on each to make it even more visual. Each has the SPANC logo prominently displayed, to retain some uniformity. It's an attractive design, overall. On the flip side of the cards, every skill is appropriately color-coded and the "TOY!" and "LOOT!" reward indicators on the Challenge cards are color-coded as well, so there's no mistaking them.

There was obviously a lot of thought put into the look and feel of this game. The cards have all the information needed to play without being cluttered. The artwork takes up most of each card without cramping the info. Fade and Phil share a sense of humor that comes across wonderfully both on the cards and in the gameplay itself. In short, this game is visually appealing and very fun to play. Style: 5.

Final Thought

If you like card games with a sense of humor, you can't go wrong with SPANC. Unlike some such games, it doesn't sacrifice good gameplay for the laugh -- instead, it incorporates the one into the other. Well worth your consideration.